No Arabic abstract
A high-resolution investigation of the electron spectra close to the metal-to-insulator transition in dynamic mean-field theory is presented. An all-numerical, consistent confirmation of a smooth transition at zero temperature is provided. In particular, the separation of energy scales is verified. Unexpectedly, sharp peaks at the inner Hubbard band edges occur in the metallic regime. They are signatures of the important interaction between single-particle excitations and collective modes.
Electronic structure calculations for spinel vanadate ZnV$_2$O$_4$ show that partial electronic delocalization in this system leads to structural instabilities. These are a consequence of the proximity to the itinerant-electron boundary, not being related to orbital ordering. We discuss how this mechanism naturally couples charge and lattice degrees of freedom in magnetic insulators close to such a crossover. For the case of ZnV$_2$O$_4$, this leads to the formation of V-V dimers along the [011] and [101] directions that readily accounts for the intriguing magnetic structure of ZnV$_2$O$_4$.
Here we present experimental and computational evidences to support that rock-salt cubic VO is a strongly correlated metal with Non-Fermi-Liquid thermodynamics and an unusually strong spin-lattice coupling. An unexpected change of sign of metallic thermopower with composition is tentatively ascribed to the presence of a pseudogap in the density of states. These properties are discussed as signatures of the proximity to a magnetic quantum phase transition. The results are summarized in a new electronic phase diagram for the 3d monoxides, which resembles that of other strongly correlated systems. The structural and electronic simplicity of 3d monoxides make them ideal candidates to progress in the understanding of highly correlated electron systems.
We investigate the electronic structure of Chromium Nitride (CrN) across the first-order magneto-structural transition at T_N ~ 286 K. Resonant photoemission spectroscopy shows a gap in the 3d partial density of states at the Fermi level and an On-site Coulomb energy U ~ 4.5 eV, indicating strong electron-electron correlations. Bulk-sensitive high resolution (6 meV) laser photoemission reveals a clear Fermi edge indicating an antiferromagnetic metal below T_N. Hard x-ray Cr 2p core-level spectra show T-dependent changes across T_N which originate from screening due to coherent states as substantiated by cluster model calculations using the experimentally observed U. The electrical resistivity confirms an insulator above T_N (E_g ~ 70 meV) which becomes a disordered metal below T_N. The results indicate CrN transforms from a correlated insulator to an antiferromagnetic metal, coupled to the magneto-structural transition.
Phase transitions driven by ultrashort laser pulses have attracted interest both for understanding the fundamental physics of phase transitions and for potential new data storage or device applications. In many cases these transitions involve transient states that are different from those seen in equilibrium. To understand the microscopic properties of these states, it is useful to develop elementally selective probing techniques that operate in the time domain. Here we show fs-time-resolved measurements of V Ledge Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (RIXS) from the insulating phase of the Mott- Hubbard material V2O3 after ultrafast laser excitation. The probed orbital excitations within the d-shell of the V ion show a sub-ps time response, which evolve at later times to a state that appears electronically indistinguishable from the high-temperature metallic state. Our results demonstrate the potential for RIXS spectroscopy to study the ultrafast orbital dynamics in strongly correlated materials.
The electrodynamics near the metal-to-insulator transitions (MIT) induced, in V3O5 single crystals, by both temperature (T) and pressure (P) has been studied by infrared spectroscopy. The T- and P-dependence of the optical conductivity may be explained within a polaronic scenario. The insulating phase at ambient T and P corresponds to strongly localized small polarons. Meanwhile the T-induced metallic phase at ambient pressure is related to a liquid of polarons showing incoherent dc transport, in the P-induced metallic phase at room T strongly localized polarons coexist with partially delocalized ones. The electronic spectral weight is almost recovered, in both the T and P induced metallization processes, on an energy scale of 1 eV, thus supporting the key-role of electron-lattice interaction in the V3O5 metal-to-insulator transition.